Trish Stratus

She has two sisters, Christie and Melissa.
. Stratus' mother, Alice is a teacher of Polish descent and her father, John is a real estate agent of Greek descent. As the architectures are entirely different between Xbox and Xbox 360, unlike other backward compatible consoles such as the PlayStation 2, software emulation is the only viable option for compatibility. Her motto is, "Preparedness meets opportunity.". (Games in emulation add support for the Xbox 360's higher screen resolution and anti-aliasing abilities.) These emulators are periodically updated to add compatibility for older games; these updates are available for free on Xbox Live for those with the hard drive. Stratus' trademarked catchphrase is "Stratusfaction Guaranteed", with "True Stratusfaction" being the feeling of constantly being challenged and subsequently meeting those challenges. When equipped with a removable hard drive add-on, the Xbox 360 supports a limited subset of the Xbox's library (more than 200 games at US launch) through emulation.

In a March 15, 2005 interview with Byte This! (an online talk show), she was quoted as saying;. [17]. Stratus has repeatedly declined to pose nude for Playboy. NVIDIA ceased production of the Xbox's GPU in August of that year, which almost certainly marks the end of Xbox production and the quick release of the Xbox 360 featuring a new GPU from NVIDIA's rival ATI. Stratus has also recorded a song called "I Just Want You", as part of the WWE-produced compilation album, WWE Originals. Microsoft's next generation Xbox, the Xbox 360, was released on November 22, 2005. Stratus has appeared on Mad TV twice and various comedy shows in Canada including Royal Canadian Air Farce and performing on stage at Second City. To avoid frustrating early adopters, they offered a bundle containing two games and one controller for free to any purchaser who could provide a sales receipt showing the original higher price.

She was then introduced to Trish's date, Jack, which did not set well with James. Microsoft countered with a £100 price drop (and its equivalent in the rest of Europe) some scant months after launch. After the match, Mickie confronted Trish backstage, and again confessed her "love" towards Stratus. With a price-dropped PlayStation 2 and a comparatively inexpensive GameCube as competition, many users were naturally reluctant to invest in the console. This time, the outcome was different, as Ashley was victorious. Obviously, ignoring the GBP-USD exchange rate in the way gives the impression of a 100% mark-up for Europe. Just like on that night, Trish was the special guest referee. As with many games consoles (for example, the PlayStation series), the Xbox was launched with a price in GBP equal to its US price in USD (in this case, $/£299), and this price then converted for the rest of Europe.

The following week on RAW, Mickie faced Ashley in a rematch from the Royal Rumble. Of note is the high European launch price. James gave Ashley a Mick Kick and left the ring happy while a shocked Trish tended to Ashley. Oceania. When Trish pulled Ashley off James. Europe. Mickie was very upset and started to leave the ring before running back and nailing Ashley with a spear, causing a catfight. North America.

As Trish tried to set the record straight, Ashley hit the ring and told Mickie that Trish thinks she is a psycho. Recently, the firmware to the newer optical drives was edited to allow signed code to play. Balloons and confetti filled the arena and the Spirit Squad gave Trish a special cheer. Modding your Xbox in this manner will definitely void your warranty, since it requires you to disassemble the console. The next night on RAW, James held a celebration of her idol, Trish. There are now sites that offer to modify the software on your Xbox for free. Trish reluctantly counted to 3. Probably the most legal way of modding the Xbox is replacing the whole motherboard so that you can install Linux or any other operating system designed for PC without having to hack anything.

Before the match, Mickie told Trish, " I love you." James won with a powerbomb as Ashley mounted over her on the turnbuckle. One such successful use of Live to discourage modding was when the hit game Halo 2 was released, and many owners of modded consoles found out that they were permanently banned from the Xbox Live service, but was retaliated with On-Off switchable Modchips (or add-ons) and XBOX Live friendly softmods from XBOX hackers community. Trish was the special referee in Ashley's match with James at the Royal Rumble on January 29 in Miami at the American Airlines Arena. As of November 2004, Microsoft has been taking new actions for banning Xboxes with hard drive modifications from the Xbox Live service. Trish confronted Mickie on the outside, leaving Ashley in the hands of Victoria, who pinned her after delivering the Widow's Peak. Also, most internal hardware modifications will render an Xbox unable to participate in Xbox Live, which has forced many modders to use a switch that turns on and off their modifications. The following week, when Mickie was apologizing to Ashley for what she did while they were preparing for their match, Mickie slapped Trish's rear, to which she implied was "just for luck." The trio ended up losing to "Vince's Devils" when Mickie attacked Ashley after she was knocked into her. Modding an Xbox may require opening the Xbox case, and would certainly void the Xbox's warranty.

The night after on RAW, Ashley defeated Trish by DQ in a match for the Women's Title when James interfered and backstage Ashley told Trish that Mickie was a psycho. A modded Xbox can even be configured into a computer running Linux, FreeBSD, or Microsoft Windows CE operating systems. Mickie proceeded to make Trish uncomfortable by saying that it felt like silk when their skin came into contact. Beyond gaming, a modded Xbox can be used as a media center with the Xbox Media Center software (XBMC) allowing the playing of DVDs without the DVD dongle/remote and streaming of music and video files from the hard drive or from another computer over a network. Mickie came in excited, with Trish asking her if she knew that she lost the match. This process does require a modded Xbox using one of the alternative dashboards, and is used by scrupulous users to eliminate load times or leave their games in storage, and by unscrupulous users to play illegally copied games. Afterward, she had a brief stare down with Lita (many believe this is a glimpse into the future) before answering questions on WWE Instant Access. This allows the user to spare game disks from scratching and allows for faster load times.

Stratus retained her title by defeating Mickie James with the Chick Kick at New Year's Revolution on January 8, 2006. Then Xbox games can be copied from the DVD to the hard disk with programs such as DVD2Xbox and PxHDDLoader, and then played directly from the hard drive. Mickie finally gave Trish her towel back, but not before complimenting her on her "nice breasts.". The original hard drive can be replaced with a larger one. She took her towel and wouldn't give it back until Trish heard her out. This is especially attractive as the Xbox is designed to output to TVs, and high-quality controllers and arcade sticks are available for it. Frustrated that Trish wasn’t returning her calls, Mickie found Trish in the shower. This allows running an alternate dashboard such as UIX, Avalaunch, Evolution-X or UnleashX and in turn makes playing original (free) homebrew games or various older games through arcade and console game emulators possible.

Mickie James was in another compromising situation with the Women’s Champion the next week. Software modding is much less intrusive, and only involves running software exploits to trick the Xbox into running unsigned program code. The suprised Stratus, in disbelief, ran from the situation, stressing out James. [15][16]. On the December 26, 2005 episode of RAW, Mickie James shared an "intimate" kiss with Stratus under a mistletoe. He was sentenced to 140 hours community service, ordered to pay £750 costs at a court in Caerphilly, Wales, and his computer equipment was confiscated. At the 2005 Survivor Series on November 27, Stratus, with the interference of Mickie James, defeated Melina to retain her title. It is the first conviction since the Directive was enacted in October 2003 in the UK.

Melina then kicked Stratus in the head, knocking her and the chair over. (The Directive makes it illegal to circumvent copy protection systems on hardware including video game consoles). Melina then challenged Stratus to a match for the Women's Championship the following Sunday at the 2005 Survivor Series, which Stratus agreed to. This was the first conviction of its kind in the UK. When they had Stratus bound and tied to a chair, they revealed themselves to be Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro of MNM, acting on the instructions of Melina. In July 2005, a 22 year old Cambridge University graduate was convicted under the EU Copyright Directive for modifying Xboxes and selling them with an upgraded 200 GB hard drive, which was pre-loaded with 80 games. On the November 21 episode of RAW, Stratus was abducted by two masked men and carried to an undisclosed part of the arena. Hardware modding can involve anything from simply replacing the console's green decorative "jewel" with a custom-designed one to opening up the case and installing a modchip.

Melina eliminated Stratus to win the bout. The recent popularity of the Xbox has inspired efforts to circumvent the built-in hardware and software security mechanisms (sometimes in order to use the Xbox as a low cost web server), as well as to add customized design touches to the console's case (similar to PC case modding). Trish Stratus met Melina in the ring for the first time on November 14 in a mixed brand diva battle royal. The Xbox API is similar to DirectX version 8.1, but is non-updateable just like other console technologies. Stratus successfully defended the Women's Title in a "Fulfill Your Fantasy" Diva battle royal at Taboo Tuesday 2005. Microsoft's set of low-level APIs for game development and multimedia purposes, DirectX, was used as a basis for the Xbox's hardware programming. A week later, Trish Stratus' "number one fan" Mickie James made her debut, saving Stratus and Ashley from an attack from Victoria. This output selectivity is made possible by the Xbox's SCART-like AVIP port.

At WWE Homecoming, the duo defeated Wilson, Candice, and Victoria in a Bra and Panties Match. Numerous unofficial third-party cables and breakout boxes exist that provide combinations of outputs not found in these official video packages; however, with the exception of a few component-to-VGA transcoders and custom-built VGA boxes, the four official video packages represent all of the Xbox's possible outputs. On September 18 at Unforgiven 2005, Stratus and Ashley defeated Victoria and Wilson in a tag team match. Included with the Hello Kitty Crystal console was a matching Crystal Controller S and a copy of Hello Kitty Mission Rescue. On September 12, 2005, Stratus returned to RAW and turned face once again by joining forces with Ashley Massaro against Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Victoria. A limited production run of 550 units was sold at a retail price of S$99 (US$61), if you purchase selected Samsung LCD TVs during a promotion. She berated him after the match and he gave her a bear hug and followed up with a big splash. The special edition console was translucent with a pink and orange Hello Kitty picture covering the X on top of the case.

Storyline wise, she was attacked by Viscera after he failed to take out Lita's "husband" Kane. The Hello Kitty Crystal Xbox was released with Sanrio in Singapore, to commemorate the release of Hello Kitty Mission Rescue on the Xbox. In May 2005, Stratus was removed from competition, due to a herniated disc. Included with the neon green console was one of two games: Project Gotham Racing 2 or Amped 2. Stratus successfully defended her title at WrestleMania 21 on April 3, 2005 against 2004 RAW Diva Search winner Christy Hemme. Dew logo under the Xbox name. Stratus quickly took advantage of the situation, nailing Lita with a Chick Kick to the head to win her record sixth Women's Championship. The Mountain Dew Limited Edition Xbox was neon-green colored and had a special jewel atop the Xbox that had the words "Limited Edition" and the Mt.

Lita tore her ACL when she connected with a Lou Thesz press off the ring apron, onto the arena floor. Production numbers are unknown. On January 9, 2005 at New Year's Revolution in Puerto Rico, Lita defended her title against Stratus. The sweepstakes spanned 5 months – from April to August – in 2004. She warned the eventual DS winner that she would be hazing them as part of an "initiation party" next week on Raw. The Mountain Dew Limited Edition Xbox was only available through a Mountain Dew sweepstakes requiring loyal Dew-drinking Xbox fans to amass 550 points in order to "buy" the Limited Edition Xbox. The feud began when Jonathon Coachman was about to announce the winner of the first Diva Search Contest, and Trish Stratus's music hit and she came out wearing a short blue dress. Included with the Ice Blue console was a matching Controller S, and a copy of Halo 2.

One notable feud in her 2004 title run was with Christy Hemme. The console was translucent blue and retailed for approximately $249. Stratus would continue to hold the title for the next six months, fending off all challenges and even tying the record for the fastest match in wrestling history, pinning Nidia in just three seconds on the July 5, 2004 edition of RAW. On March 18, 2005, an Ice Blue Halo 2 Limited Edition Xbox was released in Canada and Asia. This win was historic for Stratus, as she became the first-ever five time WWE Women's Champion. The original retail price was ¥22'800 yen ($215), and included the translucent blue console with a matching Controller S, a DVD Playback Kit, an Xbox Live Starter Kit with a free one-year membership, a copy of Dead or Alive Online, and a five-foot-long Kasumi body pillow. Lita appeared to have victory at hand following a DDT to Gail Kim, but Stratus moved in for the kill, rolling up Lita from behind for the win and the title. The translucent blue case was based on the costume of Dead or Alive's main character, Kasumi, and had "Dead or Alive Online" written in white lettering in the lower left corner of the top of the case.

At Bad Blood on June 13, 2004, the Women's Championship was defended by Victoria, in a Fatal Four Way Elimination Match. The system had a limited manufacturing run of 5,000 units, and was released simultaneously with Tecmo's fighting game, Dead or Alive Online. As the Jericho/Christian feud reached its conclusion, Stratus refocused herself on the Women's Championship. On March 25, 2004, a Kasumi-chan Blue Xbox console was released in Japan. The Stratus/Christian union would continue for several more months, and even saw the addition of a "problem solver" to their mix, the hulking Tyson Tomko. 200,000 of these Xboxes were produced. She also revealed to the fans how much she "likes it rough." She ended the promo by proclaiming to Jericho and to the world, "You can't get no...Stratusfaction.". The version of Halo that came with this bundle was identical to other versions of Halo, with the exception of a "NOT FOR RESALE" notice placed on the front of the game case.

The following night on RAW, after the two squashed Spike Dudley in an unprovoked attack, Stratus revealed on how she had never forgiven Jericho for the Canadian dollar bet, how her feelings of sadness and hurt ate away at her for months as she plotted her ultimate revenge. The console case featured the Halo logo and the words "Special Edition"; the controller had a jewel that had the Halo logo in place of the normal Xbox logo. Before they departed, Christian grabbed Stratus's hair, pulled her to his lips, and passionately kissed his new girlfriend. This version was translucent green and came with a copy of Halo: Combat Evolved and a matching translucent green Controller S. Christian and Stratus walked away holding hands, mocking their former friend who sat in the ring looking on with an expression of disbelief. On March 14, 2004, Microsoft released a special version of the Xbox in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Stratus suddenly reared back and throttled Jericho with a vicious haymaker, which Christian followed with the Un-Prettier. A Crystal Controller S was also availible separately.

As Jericho tried to hold Stratus back, though, the fans witnessed the turn of Stratus. The Crystal console was re-released on October 8, 2004 in a new bundle (but with only one controller) at the normal Xbox price of €149/£99. After the match, Stratus appeared to be all apologies, but as she and Jericho argued in the ring, Christian came running back down the aisle, to seemingly get his hands on Stratus in a violent and hateful manner once again. It is unknown how many Crystal Limited Editions were produced, however; later bundles were released pairing a re-released Crystal Xbox with different Xbox games and Xbox Live subscriptions. Her elbow jabbed Jericho's temple, and Christian scored a roll up pin for the three count. With a price tag of €199/£139, the Crystal Limited Edition came with a transparent console and two matching Crystal Controller S. Jericho made the save, but when he leaned down to assist his fallen friend, Stratus thrust forth an elbow, apparently believing that it was Christian. On March 14, 2004, the Crystal Limited Edition Xbox was released in Europe to celebrate the Xbox's European birthday.

Christian, apparently disgusted by Stratus's presence, pulled her violently into the ring and attempted to attack her. Included with the Pure White console was a matching Controller S, a DVD Playback Kit, and an Xbox Live Starter Kit with a free one-year membership and voice communicator. Stratus surged toward the ring late in the match, appearing to be firmly in Jericho's corner. The original retail price for the Pure White Limited Xbox was ¥19'800 yen ($186) and was only available for purchase online at the Official Xbox Japan website between the dates of January 30 and February 6, 2004. Unbeknown to the fans in attendance, it was only just getting warmed up. The words "Limited Edition 2004" were also carved into the jewel of the console, and into the exclusive Controller S (right below the Xbox name). It appeared this long and intense storyline would reach its conclusion on this night. The system had a limited manufacturing run of 1,000 units and allowed purchasers to personalize their console with up to twenty letters (Japanese characters not allowed) engraved on the case.

A match was soon signed for WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004, in Madison Square Garden, pitting Chris Jericho against his former best friend, Christian. On February 22, 2004, a Pure White Limited Xbox Console was released in Japan, to commemorate the console's two-year anniversary in that country. Stratus was taken out of action for several weeks with injuries, and Christian gloated over his actions. The Translucent Green Limited Edition Xbox was also released in Candada and came with one matching Controller S and two games, Crimson Skies and Project Gotham Racing 2. In the ring, however, Christian instead plowed Stratus down with a clothesline, and locked her in Jericho's submission hold, the Walls of Jericho. The green Controller S was also sold separately. In the dressing room prior to the contest, Christian (feigning friendship with Stratus) promised her he would lay down and allow her to pin him. The styling of the Translucent Green Xbox is identical to Debug Units used in game development; of course, the retail versions lacked the words "Debug Unit" on the front of the case.

It looked like everything became crystal clear on the February 23, 2004 RAW, when Christian was booked to face Stratus in a one-on-one match by RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff. The console came with two matching Controller S and retailed for €229/£149. To the face of Jericho, he was very accepting of his feelings for Stratus...but to Stratus's face, Christian seemed to be courting her affections. On May 2, 2003 a Translucent Green Limited Edition Xbox was released in Europe to celebrate Xbox's one-year European birthday. Meanwhile, Christian appeared to be harboring jealousy, accusing Stratus of driving a wedge into his partnership with Jericho and labeling her "Yoko Ono." But soon, Christian also appeared to have something of a change of heart, albeit a very condescending one. Included with the Special Edition console was a matching white Controller S, an Xbox Component A/V cable, an Xbox Component AV pack, a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta with its soundtrack CD, and a dragon head necklace. At first, Stratus was unwilling to show Jericho any forgiveness, but appeared to accept his apologies enough to at least accept him as a friend. The Panzer Dragoon Orta Special Edition was priced at ¥35'800 ($358) and could only be pre-ordered on November 1, 2002 through Sega Direct.

Soon, it became obvious that Jericho was feeling an enormous amount of guilt for initiating the Canadian dollar bet. The console's special features included a white case with the Panzer Dragoon Orta logo in top's the lower left hand corner, as well as some artwork from Orta surrounding the Xbox jewel. In what now can be viewed as a harbinger of things to come, Stratus seemed to take a lot more pleasure in beating down Jericho than Jericho had in facing her in a match. This Special Edition had a limited production of 999 units; however, it is rumored that there are actually 1,049 units in total. Apparently, Jericho was starting to develop true feelings for Stratus, and was having a difficult time going through with the match before him. This quickly became the most sought-after Xbox to date. While Christian seemed to take pride in beating down his female opponents, Jericho seemed to want no part of it. On December 19, 2002, a Panzer Dragoon Orta Special Edition Xbox was released in Japan to commemorate the release of Panzer Dragoon Orta on the Xbox.

The following week, Stratus and Lita confronted and assaulted Jericho and Christian in front of a nationwide viewing audience on RAW, leading to a "battle of the sexes" tag team match held at Armageddon on December 14, 2003. Included with the Clear Black console was a matching Clear Black Controller S, an Xbox Component AV pack, and a key chain that had Bill Gates' signature and the console's serial number engraved in it. Stratus, who was to present Jericho with a handmade Canadian hockey jersey as a gift, heard every word and every laugh from outside the dressing room, and it brought her to tears. The system had a limited manufacturing run of 50,000 units, and originally retailed for ¥35'800 yen. On the December 1, 2003 RAW, Jericho and Christian were overheard in the locker room mocking Stratus' and Lita's affections, and revealed a bet the two of them had with one another (for one Canadian dollar) to see which man could sleep with their chosen Diva first. In 2001, a Clear Black Limited Edition Xbox was released in Japan to commemorate the Xbox's Japanese release. As it turned out, they were anything but. Manufacturing photos can be found here..

To many fans, neither courtship looked to be on the up and up. Microsoft extended the warranty on those first generation Xboxes that came with faulty drives and fixed them for free, unlike Sony and their first generation PS2s. At the same time, Jericho's friend and tag team partner Christian was courting Stratus' close friend Lita. Several internal hardware revisions have been made in an ongoing battle to discourage modding (hackers continually updated modchip designs in attempt to defeat them), cut manufacturing costs, and to provide a more reliable DVD-ROM drive (some of the early units' drives gave Disc Reading Errors). Stratus and Jericho appeared smitten with each other. This Japanese controller (which was briefly imported by even mainstream video game store chains, such as GameStop) was subsequently released in other markets as the "Xbox Controller S", and currently all Xbox consoles come with a "Controller S", while the original controller (known as Controller "0" or "The Duke") was quietly discontinued. One which apparently showed warmth, caring, and compassion. In response to these criticisms, a smaller controller was introduced for the Japanese Xbox launch.

Soon, however, Stratus started to slowly warm up to Jericho, seeing a side of him that many fans and fellow competitors did not see very often. The original game controller design, which was particularly large, was similarly often criticized since it was ill-suited to those with small hands. Even Stratus seemed dumbfounded initially. However, the Xbox has also pioneered safety features, such as breakaway cables for the controllers to prevent the console from being yanked from the shelf. One night on RAW, as Stratus was being attacked by Victoria and Steven Richards, Jericho inexplicably rushed the ring and warded off the attackers. Because of this, the Xbox has found itself a target of mild derision, as gamers poke fun at it for things like a warning in the Xbox manual that a falling Xbox "could cause serious injury" to a small child or pet. October 2003 would mark the beginning of what would be Stratus' most emotional WWE saga; the triangle between Stratus, Chris Jericho, and Christian. This is largely due to a bulky tray-loading DVD-ROM drive and the standard-size 3.5" hard drive.

Thanks to an assist from the returning Lita, however, it would be Stratus who gained the last laugh. The Xbox itself is much larger and heavier than its contemporaries. Soon, Molly approached Kim with the idea of forever ending Stratus's wrestling career, and for a time, it seemed as though it would happen. The Xbox does not use Windows CE due to Microsoft internal politics at the time, as well as limited support in Windows CE for DirectX. Kim helped Stratus to her feet before viciously clotheslining her to the mat. Therefore if the Xbox crashes, the only way to recover is to reboot the console as there is no multitasking support on Real Mode. Two weeks later, the now former Champion Kim, who lost the title to Molly Holly the previous week, appeared to be saving Stratus from a two-on-one assault by Molly and Victoria. That is why Xbox is running on Real Mode and not Protected Mode as seen on Windows 2000.

A miscommunication between Stratus and Kim during a tag team match on RAW (in which Stratus misfired a Chick kick and accidentally nailed her partner) left Kim embittered. Although the Xbox is based on commodity PC hardware and runs a stripped-down version of the Windows 2000 kernel using APIs based largely on DirectX 8.1, it incorporates changes optimized for gaming uses as well as restrictions designed to prevent uses not approved by Microsoft. Stratus was engaged in a heated feud with newcomer Gail Kim, who won the Women's Championship on her first televised WWE match, by winning a battle royal. An Xbox owner can rip music from standard Audio CDs to the hard drive so players can use their custom soundtrack in addition to the original soundtrack of Xbox games that support such feature. Despite losing the Championship back to Jazz the following month, Stratus stayed in the hunt for the fifth Women's Championship. Some games support "Custom soundtracks," another particularly unusual feature allowed by the hard drive. At WrestleMania XIX on March 30, 2003, Stratus won her fourth WWE Women's Championship, in a triple threat match against two of her greatest rivals, the psychotic Victoria and Jazz. Most of the games also use it as a disk cache, for faster game loading times.

Trish improved a lot in 2002 she got in the ring all most every couple days being that she was defending the title on both SmackDown! and RAW. The Xbox was the first console to incorporate a hard disk drive, used primarily for storing game saves (eliminating the need for separate memory cards) and content downloaded from Xbox Live. Stratus also became WWE's most popular Diva, gracing the cover of WWE Divas 2002 swimsuit magazine (an alternate cover with Lita), and also winning the Woman of the Year achievement award as voted by the readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine. Nonetheless, most of these features were not fully exploited in its first year of launch, notably the lack of Xbox Live online multiplayer. She even managed to win the Hardcore Championship from Crash Holly, on May 6, 2002, before losing it the same night to Steven Richards. Also, the console cost as much as the high-end GeForce 3 video card alone in 2001, while having comparable graphics processing power (the Xbox's NV2A graphics chipset is a derivative of the GeForce 3). Stratus would go on to show significant improvement between the ropes, winning the Championship on two more occasions in 2002, from Jazz and Molly Holly, respectively. At the time of its introduction, the Xbox was the only game console to do so.

Stratus had won her first WWE Women's Championship. The Xbox was designed to take advantage of a slowdown in the saturated PC gaming market and incorporates a built-in Ethernet adapter. Stratus pinned Ivory after unveiling her new Stratusfaction finisher, a modified bulldog headlock which saw Stratus apply the headlock, climb the ropes, and in mid-air, catapult herself backwards to the canvas with her opponent's head still gripped in her arms. This prediction turned out to be correct; Microsoft Game Studios, Microsoft's game division in charge of Xbox development, had its first profitable quarter reported in January 2005, thanks largely to the success of Halo 2[14]. Her return came at the Survivor Series on November 18, 2001, in a six-pack challenge for the vacant WWE Women's Championship, with Stratus facing off with Lita, Mighty Molly, Jacqueline, Ivory, and former ECW mainstay Jazz. Microsoft predicted that it would not make a profit on the Xbox for at least three years. By the time she returned to the ring, she was better prepared for in-ring combat than she had ever been before. The losses deepened when sales of the Xbox increased and when the price was reduced successive times to compete with PlayStation 2 [13].

Finlay's schoolings served Stratus well. [12] In particular, the Xbox hardware itself is a loss leader, since the console was sold at a loss even at its debut price. She received extensive ring training from Dave Finlay, a former WCW Television Champion. Internal documents show that the Xbox division had invested $4 billion from 2000 to 2005. When she was not doing the show, Stratus continued training and rehabilitation, preparing herself for her comeback in the ring. The large size of the hardware itself did not endear itself to the size-sensitive Japanese consumers. As she rehabbed, Stratus kept herself visible by co-hosting Excess on TNN. The Xbox has sold poorly in Japan mainly because Microsoft was unable to enlist enough local developers to cater to Japanese interests.

It would be at least four months before Stratus would fully heal and be able to continue her pursuit of wrestling glory. In Europe, the Xbox's market share is currently ahead of the GameCube, but is still behind the PlayStation 2. Her journey was temporarily cut short in the summer of 2001, however, when Stratus chipped a bone in her ankle and underwent surgery to repair it. The Xbox has enjoyed its greatest success in North America, where an estimated 13.5 million units have been sold and where it managed for a time to outsell the PS2[11]. After her episode with the McMahon family, Stratus began focusing wrestling in the ring full-time. Although ahead of the GameCube's 18.5 million, this was far behind the PlayStation 2's 90 million (after the Xbox was discontinued in favour of the Xbox 360, the GameCube and PlayStation 2 have reached 19.8 million[9] and 100 million[10], respectively). Shortly thereafter, Linda stood up out of her wheelchair and kicked Vince in the groin, enabling Shane to gain control of the match and eventually pin his father. According to company documents, Microsoft has shipped 25 million consoles to retailers worldwide at the end of 2005[8].

When the action was taken to the floor, Stratus walked up to Vince and slapped the taste out of his mouth before chasing Stephanie from ringside. However, as of February 2005, estimates show the Xbox's share of the worldwide console market is only moderately ahead of the Nintendo GameCube and far behind the PlayStation 2. During a Street Fight between Vince and his son, then-WCW "owner" Shane McMahon, Stratus rolled out a seemingly catatonic Linda McMahon in a wheelchair to the ring. Some critics were initially concerned that the Xbox would allow Microsoft to extend its dominance of the PC software market to consoles. Few knew however that this was all part of a master plan Stratus had set into motion to embarrass her antagonist, and at WrestleMania X-Seven a month later, it all became crystal clear. In July 2004, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live reached 1 million subscribers, and announced in July 2005 that Live had reached 2 million. Shockingly, she did. 250,000 subscribers had signed on in 2 months since Live was launched [7].

Vince then said that the apology would only be accepted if she stripped down to her undergarments, got on all fours, and barked like a dog. This online service works exclusively with broadband. The following week on RAW, Stratus actually gave Vince an apology for the disruption she felt he had caused in his life. In November 2002 Microsoft released the Xbox Live online gaming service, allowing subscribers to play online Xbox games with (or against) other subscribers all around the world and download new content for their games to the hard drive. Vince stood over Stratus, and he told her she was a toy that he had grown tired of playing with. In 2005, the long-awaited Xbox-exclusive Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and Far Cry Instincts were released. Regal executed the Regal Cutter on Stratus, and Stephanie then dumped mud over Stratus's prone body. That year, Microsoft and Electronic Arts reached a deal which would see the latter's popular titles enabled on Xbox Live.

In the midst of a tag team match that pitted Vince and Stratus against Regal and Stephanie, Stratus found herself the victim of a grand set-up by Vince, Stephanie and Regal. In 2004, Halo 2 set records as highest grossing release in entertainment history [6] as well as being a successful killer app for the online service. At No Way Out on February 25, Stratus and Stephanie squared off, with "The Billion-Dollar Princess" scoring a tainted win via the interference of William Regal. In addition, many other publishers got into the trend of releasing the the Xbox version alongside the PS2 version, instead of delaying it for months. Vince and Stratus's relationship increasingly angered the boss's daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Take-Two Interactive's exclusivity deal with Sony was amended to allow Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and its sequels to be published on the Xbox. In early 2001, Stratus became involved in a storyline with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon, during a time when Vince's wife Linda was "institutionalized" following a demand Vince had made for a divorce during a live show in Madison Square Garden in December 2000. Several best-selling and critically-acclaimed titles for the Xbox were published, such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Ninja Gaiden, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Stratus would go on to manage Val Venis to the Intercontinental Championship, but by that time, Stratus seemed to be outgrowing managing, as she had bigger aspirations on her mind. The Xbox Live online service was launched with a strong lineup including MotoGP, MechAssault and Ghost Recon. Although Stratus and her team lost the bout, she was not about to leave that night without making her mark, and proceeded to whip Lita with a leather strap before exiting the ring. In 2002 and 2003, several releases helped the Xbox to gain momentum and distinguish itself from the PS2. It was not long before Stratus began competing in actual matches, one of the earliest examples being a six-person tag team match at Fully Loaded on July 23, 2000, as Stratus teamed with T & A to face The Hardy Boyz and Lita. Lastly, Sony countered the Xbox by making exclusivity deals for highly anticipated games such as the Grand Theft Auto series and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. More and more, Stratus found herself getting physically involved in the action, taking her bumps from Superstars like The Big Show and Chyna, and even suffering a stink face from Rikishi. Although it enjoyed strong third-party support from its inception, many early Xbox games did not take full advantage of its powerful hardware, with few additional features or graphical improvements to distinguish themselves from the PS2 version, and this negated one of the Xbox's main selling points.

However, unlike many Divas before her, it only served to whet Stratus's appetite for in-ring action. However, the failure of several first-party games (including Fuzion Frenzy [4] and Azurik: Rise of Perathia [5]) damaged the initial public reputation of the Xbox. It was during her stint managing T & A when Stratus had her first taste of punishment in the ring, being driven through a table by The Dudley Boyz after weeks of taunting the team, in particular Bubba Ray Dudley, notorious for his fondness for putting females through tables. Other successful launch titles included NFL Fever 2002, Project Gotham Racing[2] and Dead or Alive 3 [3]). Not long after, Stratus began her first role in the company, managing Test and Albert in the tag team T & A. Halo still remains the console's standout title. Stratus appeared on the runway, appearing to scout certain WWF Superstars, in particular Test and Prince Albert. The greatest success of the Xbox's launch games was Halo: Combat Evolved, which was critically well-received [1] and one of the best-selling games of the year.

Her first WWF appearance took place on March 19, 2000 on Sunday Night Heat. The Xbox launched in North America on November 15, 2001. Growing up, Stratus idolized Hulk Hogan, and also had siblings and relatives who helped increase her interest in sports entertainment. The Xbox even brought high-end gaming technology to the mainstream, sporting a top of the line GeForce 3 equivalent graphics processor, a built-in Ethernet adapter, and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The WWF again had contacted her in late-1999, and this time, Stratus was ready to start her career in sports entertainment, having been a fan since her childhood. The Xbox also presented a standardized alternative to the near-endless variety of end-user configurations on the PC. Soon afterward, Stratus began her training at the gym of Ron Hutchinson, the same facility where Superstars like Edge and Christian had also trained for the ring. Being based upon Windows and standard PC hardware, the Xbox was more familiar to developers and as a result was significantly easier to develop for in contrast to PlayStation 2's proprietary processor and operating system.

This caught the attention of the WWF, whose agents told Stratus that if she felt she had more to her than her looks alone, then she should start training for a wrestling career. The authors concluded that the Xbox project as a direct response to the upcoming PlayStation 2. At one point, she also co-hosted a Canadian pro wrestling talk show called Live Audio Wrestling. As well, a venture into the gaming console market would also diversify Microsoft's product line, which up to that time had been heavily concentrated into software. Under the stage name of Trish Stratus, Stratigias quickly risen as one of the most popular models in the fitness industry, having appeared on over twenty fitness magazine covers around the world. The growing video game market seemed to threaten the PC market which Microsoft had dominated and relied upon for most of its revenues. After accepting a job at a local gym, Stratigias found herself responding to the urging of her peers there and became a fitness model. According to the book Smartbomb, by Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby, the remarkable success of the upstart Sony PlayStation worried Microsoft in late 1990s.

However, York University went on strike during her graduating year, leaving Stratigias with no other choice at that time but to pursue other career options. Some see the Xbox as a way to capitalize on the growing video game market, noting that the PC market growth was stagnating after the dot-com bust. In 1997, with the World Wrestling Federation experiencing a change in "Attitude" (rougher-edged characters like Stone Cold Steve Austin replacing the clean-cut heroes of yore like Bret Hart), Patricia Anne Stratigias was a student at York University in Toronto, majoring in biology and kinesiology in hopes of reaching her goal of attending medical school. In May 2000 the "Xbox Project" was officially confirmed by Microsoft. . Gates said that a gaming/multimedia device was essential for multimedia convergence in the new times of digital entertainment. She was voted "WWE Babe of the Year" three times between 2001 and 2003, but was defeated by Stacy Keibler in the 2004 competition. The rumors of a video game console being developed by Microsoft first emerged at the end of 1999 following interviews of Bill Gates.

As a sports entertainer, she was proclaimed the WWE Diva of the Decade on RAW's 10th Anniversary show. The Xbox was initially developed within Microsoft by a small team which included Seamus Blackley, a game developer and high energy physicist. She also released a calendar series called "Dream Team" with fellow model, Stacey Lynn. . As a fitness model, Stratus has been featured on the cover of many major health and fitness magazines such as Musclemag, Flare and Total Women's Fitness. Notable launch titles for the console include Amped, Dead or Alive 3, Halo: Combat Evolved, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, and Project Gotham Racing. ^[1]. The Xbox was Microsoft's first independent venture into the video game console arena, after having developed the operating system and development tools for the MSX, and having collaborated with Sega in porting Windows CE to the Sega Dreamcast console.

Stratus is marketed as the first woman in WWE history to have held the WWE Women's Championship six times, two more than the four title reigns of The Fabulous Moolah recognized by WWE. The Microsoft Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console first released on November 15, 2001 in North America and Puerto Rico, then released on February 22, 2002 in Japan, and later on March 14, 2002 in Europe. Patricia Anne Stratigias (born December 18, 1975 in Richmond Hill, Ontario), better known by her stage and ring name, Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler and fitness model, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment's RAW brand. Xbox: Part Deux (Xbox XGPU Basics)" by Dave Salvator, ExtremeTech.Com, November 30, 2001, retrieved January 30, 2006. 1-time WWE Hardcore Champion. "GameCube vs. 6-time WWF/E Women's Champion. NZ$249 (2004 Q4, 2005).

Vince McMahon. NZ$299 (2004 Q2). Viscera. AU$249 (2004, 2005). Val Venis. NZ$349 (2004). Tyson Tomko. AU$299 (2004).

Test. NZ$399 (2003). Ashley Massaro. AU$349 (2003). Chris Jericho. NZ$499 NZD (3 October, 2002, Launch Price). Mickie James. AU$299 AUD (2005).

Christian. AU$399 AUD (2004). Kurt Angle. AU$699 AUD (26 April, 2002, Launch Price) (Quickly dropped to $399 to compete with launch of Nintendo GameCube). Albert. €99 (Spain, January 2006 promotional price). Dominant hand: Right. €99 (Ireland; Christmas 2005 promotional price).

Shoe size: 7.5. £99 (August 27, 2004). Measurements: 36-24-36 D. €149 (August 27, 2004). Eye color: Hazel. £130 (2003). Natural hair color: Brunette. €199 (2003).

Back Chops. €249 (August 30, 2002). Standing Dropkick. €299 (Launch Price (Rest of Europe) and Ireland April 26, 2002). Leg Drop. £299 GBP (Launch Price March 14, 2002),. Victory roll. €479 (Launch Price (Ireland) 14 March, 2002),.

Tilt-a-whirl headscissors. US$179 (February 6, 2006, Bundled with Forza). The MaTrish. CAD$199 (March 29, 2004). Spinebuster. US$149 (March 29, 2004). Air Canada (Lou Thesz press) accompanied with right hands to the skull of opponent. US$179 (May 14, (2003).

StratusFear (handstand frankensteiner). US$199 (May 15, (2002). Running headlock bulldog from the corner. US$299 (November 15, 2001, Launch Price). Stratusfaction (springboard bulldog). Approved by Microsoft for wireless gameplay with Xbox. Chick Kick (roundhouse kick). Logitech 2.4 GHz wireless controller.

This system has been defeated by the Xbox hacking community, who have developed tools to modify gamesaves to work in a different console, though some unique technical information concerning the recipient Xbox must be known. Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball) do not support this accessory as a cheat prevention measure. Note that some recent games (e.g. Memory Unit: An 8 MB removable solid-state memory card onto which game saves can either be copied from the hard drive when in the Xbox Dashboard's memory manager or saved during a game.

The precise layout of the controls differs between the two variations of controller.

Xbox Music Mixer: A utility software bundled with a microphone that connects to an adapter that plugs into the top expansion slot of a controller. Later, as the price of the Xbox dropped, the DVD remote was bundled. Although there is nothing to prevent the Xbox from acting as a progressive-scan DVD player, Microsoft chose not to enable this feature in the Xbox DVD kit in order to avoid royalty payments to the patent-holder of progressive scan DVD playback. By selling a DVD remote separately, Microsoft was able to bundle the cost of the DVD licensing fee with it.

DVD playback was not included as a standard feature of the Xbox due to licensing issues with the DVD format that would have added extra cost to the console's base price. DVD Playback Kit: Required in order to play DVD movies, the kit includes an infrared remote control and receiver. It can also be used for DVD playback. Xbox Media Center Extender: A kit that allows Xbox to act as a Media Center Extender to stream content from a Windows XP Media Center Edition PC.

This functionality is similar to Sega's DirectLink for Sega Saturn. System Link Cable: A Cat 5 crossover cable for connecting together two consoles or a Cat 5 straight through cable used in conjunction with an ethernet hub for connecting up to four consoles, for up to 16 total players. The headset can in fact be replaced with most standard earpiece-and-microphone headsets; headset specialist Plantronics produce various officially-licensed headsets, including a special-edition headset for Halo 2. Xbox Live Starter Kit: A subscription and installation pack for the Xbox Live service, as well as a headset (with monaural earpiece and microphone) that connects to a control box that plugs into the top expansion slot of a controller.

While the official Wireless Adapter guarantees compatibility with the Xbox, almost any wireless bridge can be used. Xbox Wireless Adapter: a wireless bridge which converts data running through an ethernet cable to a wireless (802.11b or 802.11g) signal to connect to a wireless LAN. Note that while there is an "official" Xbox 'System Link' cable (a crossover cat5e cable), any PC ethernet cable can be used in the normal way treating the xbox as an NIC, eg an Xbox-Xbox connection requires a crossover cable, whereas an xbox-switch connection requires a straight-through cable. Ethernet (Xbox Live) Cable: A Cat 5 cable for connecting the Xbox to a broadband modem or router.

As Europe has no HDTV standard, no High Definition cable is currently provided in those markets. Advanced SCART Cable: The European equivalent to the Advanced AV Pack, providing a full RGB video SCART connection in place of S-Video, RCA composite and stereo audio connections (composite video and stereo are still provided by the cable, through the SCART connector, in addition to the RGB signal), while retaining the TOSLINK audio connector. Also provides analog RCA and digital TOSLINK audio outputs. High Definition AV Pack: A breakout box, intended for HDTVs, that provides a YPrPb component video signal over three RCA connectors.

Advanced AV Pack: A breakout box that provides S-Video and TOSLINK audio in addition to the RCA composite video and stereo audio of the Standard AV Cable. RF Adapter: Provides a combined audio and video signal on an RF connector. European systems come with a RCA jack to SCART converter block in addition to the cable. Comes with the system.

Standard AV Cable: Provides composite video and monaural or stereo audio to TVs equipped with RCA inputs. Dimensions: 320 × 100 × 260 mm (12.5 × 4 × 10.5 inches). Weight: 3.86 kg. Controller Ports: 4 proprietary USB ports.

EDTV and HDTV Support: 480p/720p/1080i (see game boxes for supported resolutions). PAL TV's have less than 600 horizontal lines. Note: NTSC (Non-HD) TV's have less than 500 horizontal lines. Maximum Resolution (2x32bpp frame buffers +Z): 1920(vert.)x1080(horiz)